NEW DELHI: India’s 12 major government-owned ports handled 85.06 million mt of thermal coal over April 2016 to February 2017, down 12% from the same period a year earlier, latest Indian Ports Association data showed. Coking coal shipments received by the 12 ports over the first 11 months of the current 2016-17 fiscal year (April-March) totaled 42.94 million mt, down 2% year on year, the data showed. Paradip port on the east coast handled the highest volume of thermal coal during the 11-month period at 23.65 million mt, down 17% year on year.
Kolkata port, also on the east coast, handled the highest coking coal shipments over April-February at 10.4 million mt, down 23% year on year. The 12 ports are Kolkata, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Ennore, Chennai, VO Chidambaranar (Tuticorin), Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Kandla. Chennai and JNPT ports did not receive any coal cargoes during the period under review.